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- wwu:24109
- Title
- Stong - Honk the Moose
- Date
- 1948-01-12
- Description
- Letter from Phil Stong to Elizabeth Rider Montgomery and a four page questionnaire completed by Phil Stong. Honk the moose was published in 1935 by Dodd, Mead.
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- info:fedora/wwu:24050
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- 20th century children's authors collection: writing about writing in letters and personal narratives
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- 20thCCA_stong
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- 20th Century Children's Authors - strong ---------- 20th Century Children's Authors - Phil Strong - Honk the Moose ---------- ---------- 20thCCA_strong_01 ---------- Washington, Conn., Jan. 12, 1948 Dear Miss Montgomery: I think this is a very good little sketch. I have made two or three v
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20th Century Children's Authors - strong ---------- 20th Century Children's Authors - Phil Strong - Honk the Moose ---------- ---------- 20thCCA_strong_01 ---------- Washington, Conn., Jan.
Show more20th Century Children's Authors - strong ---------- 20th Century Children's Authors - Phil Strong - Honk the Moose ---------- ---------- 20thCCA_strong_01 ---------- Washington, Conn., Jan. 12, 1948 Dear Miss Montgomery: I think this is a very good little sketch. I have made two or three very minor corrections, "Biwabik, Minn." rather than Iowa. I must have slipped on the debate thing - I coached debate for four years in high school and college but not in this school Thanks very much for thinking of me and the best of luck for your book. It sounds like an excellent idea, especially for schools and libraries. Sincerely, Phil Stong There might be an amusing line in the fact that I started this story about a place where it often gets to be 40 below sitting in front of two open port- holes with the electric fan going. When we reached New York there was a foot or so of snow on the ground. ---------- 20thCCA_strong_02 ---------- Honk the Moose Published by: Dodd, Mead and Co. Year: 1935 Real name: Philip Duffield Stong Pen name: Phil Stong What do your family and friends call you?: Phil, to my face. A. YOUR BACKGROUND Date of birth: Jan. 27, 1899 Place of birth: Keosauqua, Iowa Father's occupation: Merchant Number of brothers: 2 and sisters: Father's nationality: American Mother's nationality: Same - both families Came to the country before 1750 Kind of home during childhood (farm, small town, city apt, etc.): Farm and small town Where: Keosauqua, Iowa. Amount of schooling (high school, college, etc.): A.B. (Litt. D., LL.D.) Economic status during childhood (poor, middle class, wealthy): M.C. Special interests as a child (sports, books, games, etc.): Reading, music, varied athletics - football, wrestling, boxing, swimming. Childhood ambitions: Writing. (Lapses to radio, medicine, law, etc.) When did you begin to write?: As soon as I had enough penmanship. Why?: Born liar - writing was the only way to get away with it. Who encouraged you?: Various people - principally my English Professor in College, Lewis Worthington Smith of Drake University. What and when was your first success or recognition?: State Fair - 1932 How did you happen to write for children?: The editors at Doubleday and Co., thought that a farm juvenile was indicated by State Fair. "Farm Boy" was Junior Guild. Since then I've done about a dozen. Anything else about your background which has a bearing on your writing.: Iowa was somewhat self-conscious in my childhood. Garland and Hough and Hughes had had almost our first national recognition. My uncle, E. R. Harlan, for many years Curator of the Iowa State Historical Museum, knew all three. A distant relative, Mrs. Julia Baldwin, of Keosauqua had had a best-seller. My mother, also, thought that an author was a shade higher than a President. No was out of the trap even if I had wanted out. ---------- 20thCCA_strong_03 ---------- B. THE WRITING OF THE BOOK Where did you get the idea for the book?: In 1920 in a hotel in Ely, Minn., where I had gone to play football with the Biwabik town team. Before lunch some chap told me a fascinating story about a town moose, which lingered with me for fifteen years. When? (Season as well as year): About November. It was cold enough, I know, to run even a moose into the stable. (Ely son, 23-13, or something like that). Were the characters real people, or based on real people?: Characteristics derived from various people, of course. I was teaching in Biwabik and it was easy to make alloys. Where were you living at the time?: Iron Range of Minnesota when I heard the story - boat in the Caribbean and apartment in NYC when I wrote it. What was your major occupation?: Writing. Previously I had been on the old New York World and many other publications as writer and editor. Names (also nicknames) and identities of members of your household at at the time. (if children, give ages.): No children - wife frequently referred to as V-A. Name is Virginia. Did you talk the book over with any of them?: Told planned story to wife and editor at Dodd and had some helpful suggestions. Did you discuss it with an editor?: Covered above. Where and how did you get the material? (library research, travel, personal experience, etc.): Covered above. When did you begin to write the book?: On a little holiday in the Caribbean that year. Where?: Covered above. The thing took about three weeks and I did a major part during a rough winter trip on the way back to NY. when our friends were ill. How much had you had published when you began it? (Give names of books) "State Fair", "Farm Boy", "Stranger's Return", "Village Tale", "Week End", "Career". Worked on the movies of the novels. What was your purpose in writing this book?: Amuse some of the younger citizens and keep myself in business. How do you write? (typewriter, long-hand, dictate): Type. Where? (study, office, etc.): Study. Do you keep regular office hours? If so, what are they? No. Work most days, at least a little. Because of A.M. nwsp, background work most late at night. Do you revise much?: Very little Write easily or laboriously?: Which day? Sometimes it runs easily; sometimes not. I've done 3900 in a day and 500 in a week. Do you let your family or friends read your work, or try it out on children?: My wife. She's a parsimonious but careful novelist ("The Dollar Gold-Piece", "The Hollow Skin", etc.) and also a first-rate English and Latin scolar. (Taught Latin in a West Point coaching school). In general I would consider it a poor idea, but with her special training she is very helpful. ---------- 20thCCA_strong_04 ---------- Who makes your final copies? (yourself, private secretary, public typist, etc.): My agent's typing bureau Did you make an outline before writing the book?: No. Why would one on a simple tale? On some novels I schedule general movements on a leaf of note paper. Did you decide on the title first or last?: After the story was planned but before writing How long did it take you to write the book?: 3-4 weeks Did you work on it steadily?: Interrupted between the tour and resettlement in America. Ordinarily I would have worked steadily. Stories nag at one. Did it go fairly smoothly or did you hit rough spots? (Details of any particular difficulty and its solution would be appreciated.) In as short a story as this one is not likely to hit difficulties. In the adult novels I have often had trouble because the characters would not act the for the best in- terests of the plot. Once they establish themselves they may or may not try to fit in to the narrative structure. This calls for arbitration, of course. Was your book accepted immediately by a publisher?: "State Fair" accepted third time out. Since then, all books contracted in advance. Was it immediately popular on publication?: Very good advance. Anything else about your writing that might be of interest, especially anything that concerns this book.: As you can see, though this was only my second juvenile, I had a fairly good background of general writing - a few novels, a good deal of periodical material, long experience with newspapers, magazines, syndicates - even advertising and movies. This predicates a certain fluency - given a good story, such as the one I heard up on the Iron Range, one is fairly certain to get a mildly successful book. C. ILLUSTRATIONS How much did you have to do with the illustrations of your book?: Kurt Wiese, the illustrator, and I are collaborators, rather than author and artist. I "X'ed" passages in this that seemed good picture stuff. I've never done so since - Kurt and i understand each other completely. Kurt needs no X-ing. Kurt is completely confident that he will get situations for his styles and I am blissfully certain that he will find them without any bother from me. ---------- 20thCCA_strong_05 ---------- D. WHAT SORT OF PERSON YOU ARE What did you look like when you wrote this book? Dark or Fair?: Toward fair Tall or short?: 6'1" That was tall. Thin or plump?: 182-5 - medium Color of eyes?: Hazel to gray Wore glasses?: Not then, by ten years. Color of hair?: Mouse brown Kind of hair--- long or short?: Ordinary Curly or straight?: Two waves How did you wear it?: Left side part. Any special features of your appearance (square jaw, dimples, stoop, etc.): Nose not quite pug; not quite roundish face, full at chin. Are you quiet or talkative?: Yes and no Friendly or reserved?: F. when possible Do you laugh a great deal or are you usually grave?: Amused, ordinarily. Are you quick-tempered or calm and placid?: Medium. What sort of clothes do you wear most when writing?: (sports, suits slacks, etc.) Pajamas, slacks. Writing is hard work. Favorite occupations and hobbies?: Writing, reading, music, small dogs - not to small - phonograph (about 2500 records) - microscope, almost anything. What is your normal speech like?: (Meticulously correct, colloquial, slangy, abrupt, rambling, etc.) Midwest - correctly colloquial, if possible. What are some of your pet expressions and exclamations?: Do you want the Postal Department to intercept this? I had a rugged youth. But I don't go in much for exclamations except in great stress. If strongly religious, give denomination.: Agnostic. Any other details about yourself, no matter how trivial, which might help me to picture you in my own mind. Disorderly gent - unutterably lazy and impolite about everything that doesn't interest me - not directly impolite but engaged elsewhere - so sorry. Pathologically curious about things in abstract but only occasionally in person; i.e.; I know a bit about hieroglyph- ics but today, after three days, I learned that a neighbor had gone crazy. Selfish, per se, but not about people and things that engage me. Can you direct me to any articles or books which have been written about you?: Chiefly small periodical bits, or brief references. Homer Croy mentions me in "Corn Country". There have been a few things but they're of no particular importance. If you have a photograph or snapshot of yourself of about the vintage of your book, I would appreciate it. Of course i would return it Promptly. I don't have a thing. Georges Schreiber did a caricature of me about then but I don't have a copy of it. Perhaps one of the local newspaper morgues. Phil Stong
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